My life is spent with sorrow (Leviticus 15-18, Psalm 31, Hebrews 6)

“For my life is spent with sorrow, and my years with sighing.” (Psalm 31:10)

Do you ever feel like that? I sometimes do. And it’s amazing that in the Psalms God gives us the words to express deep sadness. Almighty God allows us to tell Him how we are feeling. It’s almost as if He cares for us! In fact he cares so much that the psalm near the end says: “how abundant is the goodness which you have stored up for those who fear you.” (31:19)

No matter how much sorrow we face now, if we belong to Jesus, we can know that He has abundant goodness stored up for us. Think of floodwaters building up, ready to burst out, so abundant is the goodness God has stored up, ready to burst upon us.

How do we know this? Our reading from Leviticus 16 shows us more of what Christ achieved for us. On the Day of Atonement, the High Priest could go behind the curtain into the most holy place. After he had killed a bull for his own sin, he killed a goat for the sin of the people. And then he confessed then sin upon the other goat. This goat was then driven out into the wilderness, and probably off a cliff so that it too died. This was a picture of the sins of the people being taken far away.

But, this was only a shadow! The High Priest had to offer a sacrifice for his own sin, and could only enter the most holy place once a year, and he couldn’t do this forever because he would die. Jesus didn’t have to make a sacrifice for His own sins, (He had none), and our reading from Hebrews 6 tells us that Jesus, allows us to go behind the curtain (i.e. to enter God’s presence) and he remains our high priest forever because he will never die! He’s conquered death. He is priest forever!

And those words from Psalm 31 about overwhelming sorrow, Jesus sang for us, he even experienced his strength failing because of sin (v10), not his own sin, but ours.

Think of Jesus singing this for you:

“Be gracious unto me, O LORD;

I am in deep distress.

My eye, my soul, my body fail

With grief and heaviness” (v9)

Because of Jesus’ distress in taking your sorrow, those who fear the LORD can know can abundant goodness stored up (v19). You may feel full of sorrow at times, but one day you will see your present troubles were light and momentary compared to the abundant goodness that was stored up for you.

I hope that helps you to keep going whatever you’re facing at the moment. May you know this hope as an “anchor of the soul” (Hebrews 6:19).